Electrical connections are inherently dangerous to connect and disconnect, thus, proper personal protection equipment (PPE) is necessary and can make the process of servicing the electrical connection burdensome, difficult, or time consuming. In addition, access to electrical connections within electrical equipment can be difficult or impossible due to obstructions to or placement of the electrical equipment, such as placing the equipment against a wall. Therefore, it is necessary in many cases to design an electrical connection so that it can be connected or disconnected by means of a plug. Many of these electrical connections are located in the rear portion of an electrical enclosure.
Since access to the rear of the electrical enclosure is not always feasible, the plug, is typically plugged in blind, i.e. without seeing the receptacle or the plug. Blind-mate receptacles and plugs that simplify the blind plug in process are available. However, off the shelf plugs/receptacles do not suit all environments and custom plugs/receptacles can be very expensive.